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Smoke signals

By
Jordan BastianMLB.com

• In his first game off the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday, Indians center fielder Michael Bourn went 0-for-4 with one walk and one run scored. Defensively, Bourn was able to test his left hamstring with a handful of running catches. Bourn was happy to be back in the lineup and pleased with how he felt.

"It felt great," Bourn said. "It's always great to get back out there and play with your teammates, man. That's the thing I've been waiting on for the last two, two and a half weeks. The conditions [Wednesday] ... I chose a good one to come back, when it was almost 20 degrees out there. It felt like it with that wind blowing a little bit. Hey, I was just happy to be out there and be a part of the team."

• In his first game off the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday, Indians center fielder Michael Bourn went 0-for-4 with one walk and one run scored. Defensively, Bourn was able to test his left hamstring with a handful of running catches. Bourn was happy to be back in the lineup and pleased with how he felt.

"It felt great," Bourn said. "It's always great to get back out there and play with your teammates, man. That's the thing I've been waiting on for the last two, two and a half weeks. The conditions [Wednesday] ... I chose a good one to come back, when it was almost 20 degrees out there. It felt like it with that wind blowing a little bit. Hey, I was just happy to be out there and be a part of the team."

• Francona was asked on Thursday if he considered intentionally walking Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera in the eighth inning, when Cleveland was clinging to a 3-1 lead. Francona said his preference in that particular situation was to have setup man Cody Allen face Cabrera, who was hitting .227 through 11 games.

"You always think about things like that when it comes to Miggy," Francona said. "I also think it's the middle of April and it's cold. I think when he's in midseason form, you think about it more than that. But putting the tying run on base there, I think we believe in Cody so much I'd rather [pitch to him]."

• With their 3-2 win over the Tigers on Wednesday, the Indians improved to 55-31 in one-run games over the 2012-14 seasons. Cleveland's .640 winning percentage in one-run games during that time period leads the Major Leagues. Atlanta ranks second at .626 (57-34).

• McAllister and right-hander Corey Kluber combined to allow eight runs in 7 1/3 innings in their first starts of the season. In their four combined outings since, the duo has gone 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA, striking out 25 and walking only two in 27 innings.